Owolabi BA, Adekola OE, Eveso JO and Akande HA
A non-invasive study on Dendrocygna viduata was carried out at a selected water body in Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria to investigate daily, monthly and seasonal patterns in key diurnal activities frequencies to quantify diurnal activity budgets, visibility, and habitat preference. Observations of species activities were evaluated, during morning and afternoon, and twenty six (26) species of Dendrocygna viduata was recorded. Focal animal sampling method was used to select one individual at a time for observation and collection of activity data. Overlapping in collection of data was avoided carefully. Eight key diurnal activities of White-faced Whistling Duck were selected for the study. Normality test for all response variables was conducted using Shapiro-Wilk test for normality, and results was considered significant at 5% level. There was no significant difference in the mean frequency between the different activities, such as flying, resting, bathing and preening. There was a significant difference between the species activities and season and month. During the wet season, the highest mean frequency of activities was observed in April, while in the dry season the highest mean frequency of activities was observed in December. Although, the mean frequency of activities was slightly higher in the afternoon than morning, but it was not significant and does not determine the frequency of activities employed by the White-faced whistling duck. More research is needed to assess this species in early morning or late evening to achieve greatest accuracy and time-efficiency, creating desirable habitat in the vicinity by modifying the dam to encourage aquatic plant development.
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